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Overview

A colorful, fun-to-read introduction that explains the ways and whys of Jewish worship, faith, and religious life.

What You Will See Inside a Synagogue will:

Satisfy kids’ curiosity about what goes on in synagogues attended by their friends, broadening awareness of other faiths at an important age when opinions and prejudices can first form.

Provide Jewish children with a deeper understanding of the practices of their own religious tradition.

Give children the opportunity to ask questions, making them more active participants.

Colorful full-page photographs set the scene for concise but informative descriptions of what is happening, the objects used, the clergy and laypeople who have specific roles, the spiritual intent of the believers, and more.

The What You Will See Inside… series is designed to show children ages 6–10 the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of traditional houses of worship, liturgical celebrations, and rituals of different world faiths, empowering them to respect and understand their own religious traditions—and those of their friends and neighbors.

About the Author

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman,PhD, has served for more than three decades as professor of liturgy at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. He is a world-renowned liturgist and holder of the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair in Liturgy, Worship and Ritual. His work combines research in Jewish ritual, worship and spirituality with a passion for the spiritual renewal of contemporary Judaism.

He has written and edited many books, including All the World: Universalism, Particularism and the High Holy Days; May God Remember: Memory and Memorializing in Judaism—Yizkor, We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism—Ashamnu and Al Chet, Who by Fire, Who by Water—Un'taneh Tokef and All These Vows—Kol Nidre, the first five volumes in the Prayers of Awe series; the My People's Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries series, winner of the National Jewish Book Award; and he is coeditor of My People's Passover Haggadah: Traditional Texts, Modern Commentaries (all Jewish Lights), a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.

Rabbi Hoffman is a developer of Synagogue 3000, a transdenominational project designed to envision and implement the ideal synagogue of the spirit for the twenty-first century.

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD, is available to speak on the following topics:

A Day of Wine and Moses: The Passover Haggadah and the Seder You Have Always Wanted

Preparing for the High Holy Days: How to Appreciate the Liturgy of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

The Essence of Jewish Prayer: The Prayer Book in Context and Worship in Our Time

Beyond Ethnicity: The Coming Project for North American Jewish Identity

Synagogue Change: Transforming Synagogues as Spiritual and Moral Centers for the Twenty-First Century

Click here to contact the author.

Dr. Ron Wolfson, visionary educator and inspirational speaker, is Fingerhut Professor of Education at American Jewish University in Los Angeles and a cofounder of Synagogue 3000. He is author of Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community; The Seven Questions You're Asked in Heaven: Reviewing and Renewing Your Life on Earth; Be Like God: God's To-Do List for Kids; God's To-Do List: 103 Ways to Be an Angel and Do God's Work on Earth; Hanukkah, Passover and Shabbat, all Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs Art of Jewish Living family guides to spiritual celebrations; The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation into a Sacred Community; A Time to Mourn, a Time to Comfort: A Guide to Jewish Bereavement and Comfort; and, with Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, What You Will See Inside a Synagogue (all Jewish Lights), a book for children ages 6 and up. He contributed to May God Remember: Memory and Memorializing in Judaism—Yizkor, Who by Fire, Who by Water—Un’taneh Tokef, All These Vows—Kol Nidre, and We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism—Ashamnu and Al Chet (all Jewish Lights).

Dr. Ron Wolfson is available to speak on the following topics:

Building Good Tents: Envisioning the Synagogue of the Future

God’s To-Do List

The Seven Questions You're Asked in Heaven

Blessings and Kisses: The Power of the Jewish Family

A Time to Mourn, a Time to Comfort

Click here to contact the author.

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, a parent, spiritual leader, and storyteller, is the awardwinning author of God's Paintbrush, In God's Name, God In Between and many other inspiring books for children of all faiths and backgrounds. The second woman to be ordained as a rabbi (1974) and the first rabbi to become a mother, she and her husband, Dennis, were the first rabbinical couple to jointly lead a congregation—Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis. They have two children, David and Debora, and three grandchildren. Sasso, who holds a doctorate in ministry, is active in the interfaith community, and has written and lectured on the renewal of spirituality and the discovery of the religious imagination in children of all faiths.Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso is available to speak on the following topics:

Nurturing the Spiritual Imagination of Children

Tell Me a Story: Reading the Bible and the Religious Imagination of Children

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3-6-This book provides a warm and thorough welcome to the center of Jewish life, emphasizing its core purpose as a house of prayer, learning, and community. Each appealing spread focuses on an aspect of synagogue life and practice, from the weekly Shabbat service to holidays and life-cycle events. The text is packed with detailed explanations; occasionally, they can be a bit overwhelming for children who might not be familiar with Judaism. Still, the book has a friendly tone and emphasizes basic values such as the importance of learning and welcoming strangers. Numerous clear color photos and pronunciation guides for Hebrew words are included. While the focus is on synagogues in the Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform movements within North America, the authors point out that Jews throughout the world practice their religion in synagogues. An excellent overview.-Teri Markson, Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School, Los Angeles Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Descriptive, colorful photography illuminates the vibrant center of Jewish life-the synagogue, a sanctuary for worship, a school for studying and learning and a gathering place for celebration, mitzvoth (doing good work) and commemoration. Hoffman gives clear, informative depictions of the diverse functions within the building, including Hebrew terminology in both transliterated and translated form. Weekly Shabbat services, celebrations of baby namings, to b'nai mitzvahs, to weddings and holidays, are simply illustrated and enhanced with detailed sidebars. The lucid text is written to appeal to most types of synagogue communities in North America: that of the Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform movements with a variety of families-young, old, single-depicting women and men equally participating in the rituals and traditions. Spacious, attractive design welcomes the reader into both the spiritual and cultural world of Judaism. For all multicultural and Judaic collections. (Nonfiction. 9+)

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